All the Margate pubs we visited are good, but the Fez is something else. A small one-roomer with a hands-on owner (i.e. he turns the LPs over) and a good mix of Margate life. In some ways I’m reminded of another labour of love round the corner. Like all the best micros, the Mad Hatter… Continue reading TOP 100 PUBS – FEZ, MARGATE
Month: March 2017
DAHN TO MARGATE
Our campervan safely parked on Ramsgate promenade (for free !), we walked the mile uphill to the railway station. Sensible folk use the famed Thanet Loop Bus to hop between micros, but we were determined to avoid overdoing it, now that news of the Government’s reduced drinking levels has reached the Fens. So, just a… Continue reading DAHN TO MARGATE
HAIR OF THE DOG
Another day with a “y” in it, another Kent micro, another request to photograph pickled onions and pump clips met with bemusement. Welcome to Minster. Apart from Mrs RM’s short spell there as a Benedictine Nun following her expulsion from Royal Tunbridge Wells in the early ’80s, this is a village best known for its… Continue reading HAIR OF THE DOG
A FAVERSHAM FEAST
The major drawback of our campervan is finding a parking space. Luckily Faversham has a giant Food Hall with unlimited opportunity for old folk to prove they can’t park, and none of those irritating white lines you have to park between. Macknade Fine Foods is one of those barns full of Hungarian olives, Welsh octopus… Continue reading A FAVERSHAM FEAST
GRAVITY DISPENSE, BABY LAMBS & PIPERS CRISPS IN CONINGTON
The travel needed for new GBG ticks continues to rise. This weekend we’re taking the campervan into Kent (two hours) for three Thanet ticks (guess what those are), then another two hours westward into Worcestershire, where avoiding the Cheltenham Festival crowd is the priority. Occasionally you need to stay closer to home. Which means the occasional foray… Continue reading GRAVITY DISPENSE, BABY LAMBS & PIPERS CRISPS IN CONINGTON
A THIRST FOR THIRSK
You don’t get one of my pink pen masterpieces today, everyone knows where Thirsk is. Half an hour’s walk from the railway station, that’s where. One of the joys of a life based around the Beer Guide is the chance for an annual re-evaluation. At times a GBG free zone, Thirsk has rarely impressed for… Continue reading A THIRST FOR THIRSK
IN THE VALE OF MOWBRAY
I’ve had a good response to my hand-coloured maps (thanks Duncan) so here’s another one, with bonus shadow. This is a stretch of the Vale of Mowbray, named after the Boro’s robust captain from the late ’80s, whose promotion winning tackle was (probably) made in Burslem. At the top you can see Hutton Rudby, suffering from… Continue reading IN THE VALE OF MOWBRAY
A PARMO-FREE SUNDAY NIGHT IN MIDDLESBROUGH
The offer was there, but Mrs RM rejected my invite to a weekend in Middlesbrough, due no doubt to a prior commitment to reorganise the airing cupboard (whatever that is). She missed a top trip to the UK’s capital of cheap fun. My clean and simple room at the Gresham (not as posh as it… Continue reading A PARMO-FREE SUNDAY NIGHT IN MIDDLESBROUGH
FROM EASINGTON TO SUNDERLAND
As I’m sure I’ve said before, it’s not that far to Yorkshire from Cambridge. You can go county-to-county in 70 minutes, faster when they get round to bulldozing Elkesley. If there’s anyone reading this in the beer desert of Elkesley I apologise; but 20 years of slowing to 50mph in order to “admire” your village… Continue reading FROM EASINGTON TO SUNDERLAND
DAISY ISN’T SINGING IN BILLINGHAM
If you want to see the extremes of Durham/Cleveland/Teeside, walk from Norton’s Unicorn over the A19 footbridge into Billingham (or vice versa if you’re heading into Stockton for a Parmo afterwards). I haven’t marked the footbridge on my Navigator yet, that’s a treat for later tonight. Billingham has the pleasant country park, but the Art… Continue reading DAISY ISN’T SINGING IN BILLINGHAM
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